Shift binder



72 Vera [b 7 March 10, 1931. A; M. MARTIN SHIFT BINDER Filed April 14, 1950 ar. 1Q, 1931 Patented 's'rss PATENT OFFICE ALFRED M. MARTIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS SHIFT BINDER Application filed April 14, 1930. Serial No. 444,002.

marked 9 on the latch keeper shown in Fig.

. 6 of the present drawings.

" In said Dornes patent the binder illustrated is of a-kind in which one back member shifts on and longitudinally with the hinge connection between the two back members, and his latch device is provided for holding the back members in partly-open position whereby sheets may be swung across from one set of prongs to the other and the back members then shifted, while still being held partly open, so that when the sheets which were swung across are again swung back they will occupy a different position in the binder, all for purposes fully explained in said Dornes patent and. at this time well understood in the art.

According to the said Dornes latch device theswinging back members are held locked partly open in their neutral relative position as well as intheir shifted relative position. According to the present improvements the back members are held locked in the partlyopen position only when they are in their normal relative position. The full-line position of Figs. 1 and 2 ofthe present drawings show the binder in what I am terming the normal position, while the dotted-line position of one back member in Fig. 2 shows it in the shifted position. The shifting action referredto is a longitudinal one, while the opening and closing operations'are in directldns transverse of the shifting movements.

The object of the present invention is to simplify the work of the operator in using such a device, and to render the operation more easy and satisfactory.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a .fragmentary top plan showing the middle portion of the binder in closed position,with

certain prongs and walls broken away and sectionally shown;

Fig. 2 is a view of the same parts, in full top plan, with the binder in the normal partly-opened latched position;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross sectional view of the binder taken'on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view as on the line 4:4: of Fig: 2; Y

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is. an enlarged perspective ofthe keeper showing the only feature of structural novelty over the device illustrated in said Dornes patent; and

Fig. 7 is a small fragmentary top view showing a series of sheets on one of the series of prongs, the sheets being in their overlapped or visible relation to each other, the binder backs and prongs being in a halfopen and non-shifted or normal position.

The two back members A and. B are hinged together at 10 for swinging movements away from and toward each other. Fig. 2 shows that some of the opposed hinge lugs as 12 and 13 are spaced apart to provide a gap 14: between them so that one back member or side of the binder may move longitudinally of'the other back member or side on the hinge pin 10. The biI ldel is thus of the kind known in the art as a shift binder.

, Looking at Fig. 2 the back member B is capable of moving. longitudinally in directions first toward and then away from the top of the sheet relative to back A. In practice, however, back member A is more frequently 'moved downward and then upward relative to back member B. The dotted-line position of Fig. 2 shows back A as having been moved downward relative to back B.

Latch member 20 has its free end 21 turned over to form a hook, its other end being mounted in the frame plate-15 by a pair of ears 23, Fig. '5, passing through holes 24 in the plate, theseears being bent bent over to form a loose hinge-like connection permitting the free end 21 of the latch 20 to move away from and toward the frame plate 15a. Latch member 20 is ineifect bowed upward by its .two flat sides 20a and 20b forming a ridge belatching member 20, thus holding the latch tween them, this construction providing that the art 20a will rest upon the frame plate 15 see Fig. 4) thus limiting movement in that direction and holding the free end 21 in its proper position for operation with the several parts of the keeper marked 8 as a whole in Fig. 6.

From Fig. 2 note the irregular opening 28 in the latch 20. From the material originally there an integral leaf 29 is formed which, in Fig. 2, is shown as passing through opening 30 in frame part 15. We see it emerging upward from the other side of plate 15 in Figs. 3 and 4. It has a hole through which extends loosely a spring wire 31, and this spring 31 is held rigidly at 32 by a covering and retaining plate 32 spot-welded to the frame plate 15. The tension of spring 31 is such as to draw the latch member 20 downward in Figs. 3 and 4.

On a longitudinally-sliding metal strip 16' is rigidly secured, as by spot-welding, a cam element having a base 40 and the upstanding cam part 41 which passes through an elongated rectangular opening at 42 (Fig. 5) in the frame part 15 and thence into a rectangular opening 43 (Fig. 1) in latch member 20. Its slanting sur site one end of theopening 43 and it engages the metal there when the finger piece '7 (Fig. 5) is forced inward. This action p shes the latch member 20 upward in Fig. 4, thereby releasing latch element 21 from the keeper. The stroke ofthe finger piece is such as to carry the higher end of the cam 41 underthe raised free of the catch or keeper so long as the finger piece is held advanced. An angle iron cleat having a web spot-welded to the inner wall of the frame has a web 51 overlying the part 40 and holding the cam member in position and for sliding movements.

Turning to Fig. 6 the keeper 8 has a base 60 and an upstanding ridge-like part or catch element 61. Fig. 4 shows that when the backs are in the partly-open position the latch part 21 engages the catch element 61, and the binder may not open further in that direction until the finger piece is operated. It may be mentioned that with the weight of the sheetsupon the prongs in the normal use of the book the tendency of the back members is to fall apart into the fully-open position (not shown herein but illustrated in Fig. 3 of said Dornes patent). The latch device, in the operative relations of Fig. 4, holds the binder .in such a partly-open position that the prongs as 45 on one side, and 46 on the other are partly overlapped in transverse view, and it is therefore possible for the operator to move sheets from one side of the binder to the other 'side on the prongs without operating the ace at 41a (Fig. 1) is oppo- .extent toward the n'ormalposition.

may be shifted longitudinally relative to theother when the book is in the fully closed position of Fig. 1 or in the partly-open position of Fig. 2. I am here chiefly interested, however, in means for holding the back members against shifting when they are in the partly-open position, as in Fig. 2. In that position the front end 21 of latch 20 is engaging catch element 61 and at the same time is against the stop 9, as shown in Figs. 2

and 4.

While the book is being partly opened the edge 200 of latch 20 (Fig. 1) is maintained against the stop 9, so that it is impossible for the back members to shift longitudinally relative to each other during any stage of this part-opening movement, and the same is true when the latch element 21-finally comes into engagement with catch element 61 as shown in Fig. 4.

The occasion for the present improvements arises from the fact that if the back members may shift relative to each other out of the normal position into a shifted position when the binder is in the half-open position of Fig. 4, the use of the book causes one back member to creep relative to the other under the influence of various forces, for example such as the force applied in attempting to move one bunch of sheet material on the prongs, the weight" of the operators arm when he may be leaning on the book to make entries or in searching for a particular record, etc. It frequently happens therefore that before the operator can swing sheets from one side of the book to the other for the results desired he must see that the backs are in the neutral or normal position, and he frequently must move one or the other of the back members either slightly or to a considerable This nece ity for insuring the correct relative position of the backs is a matter of some annoyance and causes loss of time. It sometimes happens, too, that through some negligent movement of the operator one side of the binder will be shiftedto its full extent,

while being held in the half-open position, and the operator may then go on and swing sheets from one side to the other before making the discovery of such incorrect position, necessitating an undoing of some of his work.

Accordingtothese improvements the backs may not shift relative to each other when the binder is latched in the half-open position, with notable advantages as indicated.

It is further pointed out when the book is in a shifted position, as shown by the dottedlines of Fig. 2, the stop 9 is in the path of the catch element 21, and when the book is sought to be closed from open position into the halfopen position the latch element 21 rides upward on the surface 9a of the stop 9 and prevents the latch from engaging with the catch. This provides that the backs may not be locked in the half-open position when the backs are in a shifted position relative to each other, and the operator knows that as soon as he has latched the parts together in this half-open position the backs are in their normal position for use.

With respect to the dotted-line or shifted position of back member A in Fig. 2, for the sake of avoiding any misunderstanding I wish to point out thatthe back members do not so shift when the latch 20 is holding the back members in that half-open position. Fig. 2 is correct, however, since in full lines it shows the latch in its locking position, which position of latch 20 may be the same, in top view, for the dotted-line position of back member A, but the latch element 21 would not be in engagement with catch 61 but would be held raised on account of the top surface 9a of the top 9. To understand the dotted-line relationships of Fig. 2 we may assume the book to have been fully opened, back A shifted relative to back B, and the two backs then moved toward each other on the hinge pin 10 intothe positions shown by Fig. 2 and including the dotted-line shifted position thereof. In that dotted-line position the two back members will not be held by the latch device.

I contemplate as being included in these improvements all such changes, variations and departures from what is thus specifically illustrated and described as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a binder of the kind adapted to provide for the shifting of sheets from one relative position in a series to another relative position in the same series and without taking the sheets out of the binder for such shifting, the combination of two series of prongs adapted to hold such sheets in a series, means holding said two series of prongs in longitudinally parallel arrangement and for movements bodily in directions toward and away from each other to provide a closed position of the prongs, a partly-open position thereof, and a fully-open position thereof, means providin that one of said series of prongs may shi t bodily in longitudinal directions relative to the other thereof, means for releasably holding said two series of prongs in the partly-open position thereof, and means for inhibiting the shifting of one series of prongs relative to the other thereof when the two series of prongs are held in their partly-open position while providing that one series of prongs may shift longitudinally relative to the other thereof when the two prong series are in the fully-open position.

2. In a binder of the character described having back members hinged together and a row of impaling prongs carried by each back member and arranged to hold sheets in a series, with means providing that the back members may be shifted relative to each other longitudinally on the hinge connection between them for changing the relative position of sheets in such series, the combination therewith of latching means for holding the back members releasably in a partly-open position, and means for holding the back members against such shifting when they are held by said latching means in the partly-open position.

3. In a binder of the'character described comprising back members hinged together and a row of impaling prongs carried by each back member and arranged to hold sheets in a series, with means providing that the back members may be shifted relative to each other longitudinally on the hinge connection between them for changing the relative position of sheets in such series, the combination therewith of latching means for holding the back members releasably in a partly-open position, and stop means coacting with said latching means for holding the back members against such shifting when they are held by said latching means in the partly-open position.

4. In a comprising back members hinged together and a row of impaling prongs carried by each back member and arranged to hold sheets in a series, with means providing that one back member may be shifted relative to the other thereof longitudinally on the hinge connection between them for changing the relative position of sheets in such series, the combination therewith of means for holding the back members releasably in a partly-open position, and means for holding the shiftable back member against such longitudinal shifting when the back members are held in the partly-open position.

ALFRED M. MARTIN.

binder of the character described 

